Patient Stories

With robot-assisted surgery, we can remove your gallbladder with only one tiny incision - through your belly button!> Read Jennifer's story.

Robot-Assisted Surgery

Many patients have enjoyed the benefits of robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery at Mary Greeley Medical Center. In fact, our highly trained surgeons have performed more than 1,000 urological, gynecological and general surgeries with the da Vincisurgical robot.

How Robot-Assisted Surgery Works

The first thing to remember is that minimally invasive robot-assisted surgery is performed by the surgeon. The robot is simply an advanced surgical tool that is controlled by the surgeon. During a procedure, the surgeon is seated at a console a few feet away from the operating table. From here, the surgeon uses a viewfinder to examine precise, high-definition, 3-D images of the surgical site. These images are sent by a camera inside the patient.

Controls at the console translate the surgeon’s hand movements into precise micro-movements of the da Vinci surgical instruments, which have been inserted into the patient through small incisions. In other words, the surgeon and the robot are in sync.

All procedures are done through small incisions on the body, usually only as wide as a dime, resulting in less blood loss, minimal pain and quick recovery. Robot-assisted single-site surgery uses only one incision, through the belly button, leaving a nearly invisible scar.

Surgeons go through extensive training before they are certified in robot-assisted surgery.

Find out if robot-assisted surgery is right for you.

If you have prostate cancer, are considering a hysterectomy, or think you might be a candidate for any other robotic surgery, please speak with your physician or find a doctor, who is prepared to help.